With over 20 years of experience covering the Steelers for the Observer-Reporter, Dale Lolley will let you know the insider scoop. Dale can also be heard on the Steelers radio network pre-game show on WDVE-FM game days and Tuesday nights from 6 to 8 p.m. on ESPN 970-AM and WDVE during the season as a host of the Antonio Brown Show. Follow him on Twitter at @dlolleyor

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Busy day for Steelers

The Steelers added a pair of safeties and a pair of wide receivers Monday in perhaps the busiest free agent day in team history.

After visiting Miami, safety Ryan Clark decided to accept the Steelers' offer of $14 million over four years to remain in Pittsburgh.

That deal was struck at roughly the same time that former wideout Antwaan Randle El was also agreeing to terms with the team on a three-year deal to return to Pittsburgh. Randle El, who received a three-year deal, spent the past four seasons with the Washington Redskins.

Earlier in the day, the team announced the signings of safety Will Allen to a three-year deal worth $4.5 million and a three-year $3.975-million deal with wide receiver Arnaz Battle.

The signing of a pair of veteran wide receivers to long-term deals likely means that former second-round pick Limas Sweed has played his last football with the Steelers.

Sweed was placed on injured reserve at the end of last season so that he could deal with undisclosed personal issues.

The signings of both Clark and Allen, who played for head coach Mike Tomlin in Tampa Bay, means the team will not make an effort to bring back veteran safety Tyrone Carter.

Both Battle and Allen are also top-notch special teams players as well.

35 comments:

strange about Sweed. What I find really ironic about him is if he makes those simple catches, the whole situation is probably different. I don't like the idea of giving up on him, but he hasn't held up his side of the bargain at all apparently.

The Randle El signing is a little wierd. I'm a big El fan, but the things he did best, can he even do anymore? If he can play though, the WR core is going to be real solid. Hopefully this also knocks Logan off the roster and saves a spot.

These signings also have to make this team one of the oldest in the league. Even Allen is 27. At some point, this is going to have to be blown up and a rebuilding season experienced. Prob 2011.

Good signings, imo. Allen and Battle will be good STers who are also quality back ups.ARE could make Logan expendable on KR/PR. Not sure who the new OT will push, but maybe Tomlin isn't all that sold on Colon at RT. Possibly a Colon move to RG?

I hope the Steelers will look to re-sign Leftwich, if his arm is healthy, too.

Logan is a much better returner than ARE at this point in their careers. Didn't watch many skins games but most I saw El just wasn't was he was before. As any redkins fan

I do like him as a back up and 4th/5th receiver. Ward, Holmes, Wallace, El, Battle, Sweed, Grisham. That's seven right there without UDFAs and possible draftees. Two, one minimum, will be gone by the start of the season. Hopefully it's not by boy Grisham!

Dale, do you seriously think this is the end of limas in the burgh? Are they THAT down on him?

Ward has been hurting bad for a couple of years now and isn't the kind of guy that plays less then 100%. At some point he is going to realize that he might pay for an extra year with a lifetime of pain and walk away.

I have no reason to think this other then the signing and his recent health though.

As for the EL playing the 3... that was a quote from him about what he was told by the Steelers.

My real fear is that this return to the good old days is because Ben is going to jail and we are circling the wagons for a tough media year.

Wasn't Randle El a quarterback in college?With the Big Ben pants on the floor case, are they thinking of El as a possible partime quarterback.I also wonder if the Big Ben behind the scene problems were the reason for quarterbacks coach Kenny Anderson retiring?

``We've talked about just playing No. 3 receiver. That's all we talked about. I'm not even sure about punt return, now that I think about it. The way I always look at it, I'm going to go in and be No. 3.’’

Ward is not retiring. He told me he wants to finish his contract, which has two years left. As for him not playing at less than 100 percent, I'm not sure where that comes from. He's almost always playing at less than 100 percent.

I think the vet signings at WR - to long-term deals - shows that they don't have faith in Sweed coming back.

Also, Allen replaces Tyrone Carter on the roster, so even though he's 27, he's still younger than TC.

They also signed an offensive tackle today, Jonathan Scott of Buffalo. He looks like a swing guy who can play left or right tackle.

Someone over at the steelcityinsider forums posted that Sweed tested positive for HIV. Any possibility that he could be right? It has to be something major for the Steelers not to have said anything about it and for no word at all to have leaked out.

Someone at a another forum posted that a friend of a fried told them Holmes failed another drug test. Any truth to that Dale?

I was referring to 100% effort not 100% healthy - that probably goes out the window at spring training unless you go with the new math that allows 110%.

I was referring to him as being a player that will continue to play all out and throw his body around like a kid. He is much more physical then most receivers and he isn't that big. Some guys would just ease back on the effort a little but Ward will go full out until his body falls apart.

When he starts asking himself how he can play a little softer to spare his body I think he will pack it in.

None the less I am simply speculating because I don't think EL would have been signed as a 4 and think something is up with one of the top 3 we haven't heard yet.

They always tell free agents they'll get a chance to compete for a job. I'm sure ARE was told he'd get the opportunity to compete for the third spot, not that he'd be it - period.That's just not the way the Steelers operate.Ward is coming back for sure. It's always possible that Holmes had another problem, but I have heard nothing to this point.Could be they just wanted to upgrade the WRs considerably after finishing last season with David Boston and Tyler Grisham on the active roster.

any concerns over paying ARE and Battle over $1M each per year to be our #4 and #5 WRs? Seems like a lot of cap room to tie up, especially if ARE might not handle returns.Of course, we paid Madison $1M to be a gunner, so hopefully Battle can do that and also play WR.